By James Barragan
Austin American-Statesman
AUSTIN, Texas — An internal investigation at Travis County sheriff’s office is looking into whether an inmate who escaped from custody while at a hospital had tricked the deputy watching him into believing he was suffering from paralysis.
“That is one of the details the internal investigation is looking into,” said Lisa Block, a spokeswoman with the Travis County sheriff’s office.
The man who escaped, Dacious “Corey” Parker, did so while the deputy watching him was using the bathroom in Parker’s hospital room at University Medical Center Brackenridge. Parker, who was in a wheelchair at the time, escaped while the deputy was out of the room.
Parker was arrested in Houston on Wednesday by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and will be transported to Travis in the next few days, authorities said.
An internal investigation will determine whether the deputy committed a protocol violation while guarding Parker. The deputy’s attorney, Brad Heilman, could not be reached Saturday, but told the American-Statesman on Wednesday that his client in no way aided Parker’s escape.
After Parker’s arrest on Wednesday, Heilman said: “We are just glad to see him apprehended without anyone being injured. This was a dangerous situation. All the facts will come out in the internal affairs investigation.”
Parker had an extensive criminal history that included robberies, assaults and burglaries, officials said. He was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison for biting off and swallowing part of a man’s finger. He had been in the custody of the Travis County sheriff’s office since February, and was waiting to be transported to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility.